Home » Russell Arnold: Hardik Pandya “couldn’t gain respect” from India

Russell Arnold: Hardik Pandya “couldn’t gain respect” from India

Former Sri Lanka player Russell Arnold said Hardik Pandya “couldn’t gain respect” from the India team after being snubbed as T20I captain.

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Still an exception player

Pandya was the front-runner to take the T20I captaincy role after Rohit Sharma’s retirement.

However, head coach Gautam Gambhir instead appointed Suryakumar Yadav as India’s captain.

According to BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, the Mumbai Indian captain has been battling through injuries

Arnold said that although Yadav deserved his captaincy for the Sri Lanka tour, he also opined that Pandya also has a case for himself.

“Well, both are exceptional players. They bring different things to the party,” he told Sports Tak

“Suryakumar Yadav is probably one of the better T20 batters going around and the way he plays it, he obviously has to see and read the game like no one else. Hardik has also shown that.”

Pandya “couldn’t gain respect”

Arnold also added that Pandya “couldn’t gain the respect” from India, which prompted BCCI to pick Yadav.

“But I reckon with how the IPL went and whereas Hardik couldn’t really gain the respect of everyone around him, might have prompted BCCI to look in a different direction,” he said.

“It’s about getting everyone to gel and keeping everyone calm and happy so that you can pull in the one direction.

“I’m not saying that wouldn’t have happened under Hardik, but I guess, at this particular moment, it was a good opportunity and it’s a great opportunity for Suryakumar to showcase what he can do and make it his own.”